This document discusses how large corporations can compete with startups through experimentation and rapid learning. It describes Woolworths, a large Australian retailer, experimenting with different in-store technologies and shopping experiences through rapid testing and iteration. This allowed Woolworths to learn quickly from customers about their needs and preferences. The conclusion is that large corporations can compete by empowering many employees to act as entrepreneurs through rapid testing of ideas rather than lengthy approval processes, in order to learn quickly from customers like startups do.

1. Running a Large Corporate
Can corporations compete with an ever increasing wave of new start-ups?
Like a Start-up

2. 28.4 million
customers
served every week
Australia’s most
valuable brand
(USD $10.8B)
Established
1924
~200,000
employees
“Woolworths Limited manages some of Australia's most recognised & trusted brands.
We endeavour to create a world class experience for consumers at all levels of our business”

3. The Retail Landscape
2001:
1st Australian
store opened
Amazon Prime worth 30%
of Amazon’s total revenue.
Amazon reportedly deals
with Australian distributers
2009:
CostCo, the world’s 7th
largest retailer opens its
doors in Australia
2007:
Wesfarmers acquires Coles
in largest successful
takeover in Australia history.
Wesfarmers larger than
WOW in both revenue & profit
2000
300+ stores
in Australia
2005:
Amazon Prime
Provides free delivery in
US markets
2008:
Amazon Prime now
available in Japan, UK,
Germany & France
Today

4. No genetically modified food ever!
Mission: To improve the lives and health of our members, by delivering the freshest, cleanest,
most delicious food on the planet — in an easeful, dependable way. America’s First Certified
Organic Online Grocer. Every order you receive from us takes one more car off the road!
Selecting food from across the US, Goldbely chooses foods from restaurants based on four
variables: deliciousness, uniqueness (or iconic-ness), ability to travel well and, finally, that it
makes an awesome gift. For most of these local food producers, this is the first time their
dishes are able to reach a national audience.
Nearly half of Goldbely's customers have made repeat purchases over its first four months
as a live site, and it's brought in $100k in sales.
Offers subscribers a gourmet selection of food delivered every two months from various
countries around the world including France, Japan and Brazil!

5. 2008
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
$
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
30.0%
0.0%
$1,628.8
$1,835.7
$2,020.8
$2,124.0
$2,182.9
$2,353.9
$000,000
%

6. ROLLOUT
BUSINESS
CA
SE
PILOT
BUILD
PLANNING
APPRO
VAL
The Delivery Life Cycle
...we had to put our trust in how decisions are made
not in what decisions are made

7. P O W E R E D b y S E R V I C E™
Purchased by Amazon in
2009 for $1.2 billion
2000
$200
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
2001 2003 2004 2007 2008
$
$1.6 $8.6
$70
$840
$1,000
$ MILLIONS
$184

8. Science
Assignment

9. Aim: To learn more about customers in the quickest and most cost effective way.
Hypothesis: By applying basic scientific experimentation in a real retail scenario,
learning what customers do or don’t want, can be achieved more quickly & cheaply.
Method: Get a developer into a store, in contact with customers to test rapid
experimentation. Get feedback from customers and observe their behaviours
to see if this is a valid method of learning.

10. To watch the video go to www.thoughtworks.com/clients/woolworths

12. Aim: To provide a more convenient shopping experience for customers.
Hypothesis: Providing a self-scanning app for customers own mobile phones
will provide a more convenient shopping experience by helping to avoid queues.
Experiment: Build basic self-scan app and observe customers during shop to see
if the app can be used easily and if it aids in reducing time on non-essential tasks.
Results: Customers observed to have increased difficulty in shopping with a basket
while holding items. Also received comments that it was not useful for a small shop.
Conclusion: Self-scanning on a mobile device does not provide a more convenient
shopping experience for small format stores.

13. Aim: To provide a more convenient shopping experience for customers.
Hypothesis: Many customers are purchasing chickens for a quick meal in the evening.
Providing recipes to customers would provide a quick meal that is also healthy.
Experiment: Build basic iPad app that provides quick healthy recipes for chicken
and observe customers during shop to see if they purchase the items to complete recipes.
Results: Customers do not seem willing to get other recipe items from elsewhere in the store.
Going into the rest of the store to get ingredients takes some of the convenience out of the shop.
Conclusion: Items would need to be closer to the app to see if customers are likely to want the
healthy meal offering.

14. Aim: To provide a more convenient shopping experience for customers.
Hypothesis: Moving items close to the chickens and the chicken recipes
will provide a convenient way to get a healthy meal in the evening.
Experiment: Move items in the recipes to the same set of shelves as the
iPad recipes and see if customers will purchase these items as part of a meal.
Results: Customers do not seem to be selecting items from the recipes.
A few customers feedback that they were not aware of the items near the
recipes though they would be likely to pick them up if they knew.
Conclusion: Items contained in the recipes need to be more obvious to customers
to see if it is likely that they would find healthy chicken recipes valuable.

15. Aim: To learn more about customers in the quickest and most cost effective way.
Hypothesis: By applying basic scientific experimentation in a real retail scenario,
learning what customers do or don’t want, can be achieved more quickly & cheaply.
Method: Get a developer into a store, in contact with customers to test rapid
experimentation. Get feedback from customers and observe their behaviours
to see if this is a valid method of learning.
Results: Multiple ideas applied and tested within 5 days. Several new ideas also able
to be tested that were not planned at the start of the week. A lot of ideas were wrong!

16. It’s all about how fast you learn
Care about how you make decisions, not what decisions you make
One good test is worth 1,000 expert opinions

17. Can a Corporate
A recognised brand
Capital to invest

18. Can a Corporate
200,000 entrepreneurs
200,000 decision makers
200,000 points of interaction
with customers